Hou De's 2008 winter Dong Ding from LuGu is in my cup today. It is nicely roasted, with a distinct floral scent, smooth and complex. It definitely met my expectation. I was looking for a medium-heavy roasted oolong with a nice finish, and this is not far from what I am looking for.

Organic Japanese Kagoshima Oolong from Yuuki-Cha... not a traditional-tasting oolong I can compare with anything else. I can't compare it with black/green/white/herbal/darjeeling either. It certainly has some similarities to other roasty darker oolongs, but the flavor profile is really just completely different than anything else... I go short on infusion times and light on leaf, and get consistently really good results.

That being said... I crave this stuff. I can't explain why. It speaks my language. I just got an order from Yuuki-Cha after having run out about 6 weeks ago, and I am so glad to have it back! I may have to order more for backup, just in case they don't continue to carry it.

2009 Spring "Diamond" Tie Guan Yin from Norbu this evening. I have been enjoying a lot of some Ali Shan Oolongs from Norbu in the last couple of weeks, spring and summer harvests of what are quite lovely teas, but this one just blows them away with incredible sweetness, richness and body of the liquor. So glad I squirreled away several more pouches of this incredible tea.

Just trying to finish off some '09 Pinglin Bao Zhong from Camellia Sinensis. It has lost a little of its glory so I upped the leaf amount a bit, still nice on a cool CA morning with some extra sour sourdough rye toast. Yum!

Milan dancong now. But just wanted to comment that in the past couple of weeks I have had two stunning Oriental Beauty teas from different vendors. I'm wondering if it's been a good year. Both had a ruddy sugar taste like dark caramel which came out about 3/4 into taste experience of each sip. Treasure.

Just finished the last of a sample of traditional Dong Ding from FLT. While I've only tried several Dong Ding teas, I hadn't found one I really loved until this one. Though it isn't heavily roasted, it definitely has less of the "green" taste than any others I've tried. I'd call it a medium roast. Quite delicious!